The Life of Many that Became One

 

 

“If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.”

~Thich Nhat Hanh

 

 

If I could describe my family in one word, that world would be unity. Throughout my life, I grew up in household that acknowledged and appreciated the meaning and presence of family and for that, my family is simply a mere reflection of who I am as an individual person. Growing up, I recall countless times whereby my family, especially my parents encouraged my younger siblings and me to strive for excellence and our innate potential. My parents always taught us, that our absolute best would not always be parallel with society's best thus, once we strive for our inner-best that is good enough for them (parents). Belonging to a family that takes unity so seriously whether it may be through cooking, shopping, worshiping, laughing, and even crying together has definitely molded me into a well-grounded woman. Thus, with two simple yet meaningful words, I would like to say to my beloved family: THANK YOU!

 

I am proud to say that, Paulette Elaine Poitier-Newton, my dazzling mother is my pride and joy. She is also my best friend and I have the up-most respect for her. In my household, my mother is my mom and my dad and for that, I applaud her and admire her great unbearable strength. My mother has always supported me in my journey of becoming who I am, who I will be and as I am. As a little girl and too this very day, I always told myself, "I want to be just like my mommy". Being a woman filled with virtue and poise. In my eyes, my mother is among the few elegant women that I have seen in my lifetime. She carries herself very gracefully with an air of softness and truth. She is my "I am". She is a fierce woman who has bestilled manners and an education in every one of her children. She is a woman who has boundlessly given her children her very last crumb, symbolically speaking. How can anyone be so kind and generously? My mother is my rock and I love her immeasurably. She is my one and only hero.

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My brother, Clyde Alex Newton II and my sister, Alexandria Newton are definitely my funny bone. They have never failed yet in making my laugh after having a bad day or just on a regular basis. My brother, Clyde Alex Newton II is the baby in the family. He is 13 yrs of age and he attends St. Aquinas College. Although he is the baby in the family, he is so mature that his maturity amazes me everyday. Did I mentioned, Clyde affectionately called C.J by intermediate family and friends 5'9 only at the age of 13. So ironically, my little brother is bigger than I am. One thing I admire most about my brother is that, he is a true gentleman; he has a humble air about him. He is easy to get along with and no matter how intense a situation may be he is always willing to place another before him.He is definitely my prince!My sister, Alexandria is 15 years of age and she attends my Alma Mater, St. Augustine’s College. Anyway, my sister as I describe her is definitely the "Black Barbie". Never have I witness within my life, my sister walking about with her hair uncombed or her clothes not pressed and iron. I can always relay on this Black Barbie for the 401 on today's fashion. One thing that I love about my sister, except when it works against me is her strong personality. Although grounded and well behaved, my sister will always ensure that her voice is heard. Furthermore, she refuses to allow others to take advantage over her whether they may be a peer or someone older. She definitely wears " I am Woman" very well.

 

Being the pillar of my strength and the spine of my back, I am always surrounded by my family members, both household and extended. In fact, like the typical Bahamian family, I have a massive family. As the saying goes, "the more the merrier. My mother has 24 siblings and my father has 13 siblings. Although one may assume that is by far, too many family members to develop a close-knitted bong with, I am relatively close with just about all of my family members and their kin, which includes my aunts and uncles, in-laws and cousins and their generations, grands and great grands. One advantage, in my eyes, with having a large family includes the opportunity of traveling. My family is disperse throughout the world and that is quite fine by me simply because whenever I have a break from school, I would take that opportunity to go visit one of my family members. In fact, whenever my school has a mid-term break, I would normally go to New York New York to spend some quality time with my aunts and cousins. Whenever I am around my family, no matter which family member, I am always flourished with love, attention, reliability, and truth. I guess one can say,"I am too bless to be stress!"

 

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A TRIBUTE TO MY MAN!

The Late Hon. Clyde Alex Newton I L.L.B

(May 4, 1961 - May 24, 2004)

 

Death is a jigsaw piece to the beauty puzzle that depicts Life. Yet, many find it so hard to fit this piece to the puzzle. They want the puzzle to remain incomplete. Young, I always like the idea of an unfinished puzzle of Life. No death, no one deserves to die. However, the truth is, there are millions dying everyday. Eventually, we all have to leave this unfair world. Our lives are merely stopwatches that hang by a thread on the shirt pockets of Life. He, chooses when we stop.

Skipping careless without a worry in my soul, I can still hear the rapid and unrhymed breathing in my head the moment I found out that you had left the Earth, left me. The screams of the grieving women and flooded tears of my mother will haunt me forever. I can still feel you...so cold against my cheeks. Your body so deflated. You need air...air...somebody please! Tears perfectly cut into diamonds drown my face, the life in me. It aches to cry. My head pounds, my glands swollen, my heart literally hurts. I have lost the 15 years of discipline that you have embraced me with. I have no control.

I never knew why this happened. Moreover, I am tired of hearing; it was your time to go! I know that you never wanted to die so young. You wanted to see us grow up into strong, wise, and successful man and women. You wanted to drop my off to college. You wanted to be there at my graduation. You wanted to walk you little princesses down the aisle and go fishing with your precious boy. You wanted to grow old and gray with Paulette. You wanted time!

~Claudette A. Newton

 

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